England / Igarisu (pirate)
Hetalia: Axis Powers

It had to happen eventually: My first Hetalia: Axis Powers commission!

Instead of going with a traditional pirate coat, I based may pattern off a Simplicity costume pattern for a Sherlock Holmes coat, which was closer in line to the character design. (I'm sure that's not an accident.) The black cuffs and front panels were free-handed.

The coat is made with empire velvet, which frays like the dickens if you even look at it the wrong way and gets everywhere. (I spent two days wiping down my cutting table, sewing machine and raking my carpet after I was done.) The cuffs and panels were made of a thinner velvet with a shorter, suede-like pile to it. My client wanted the coat for a summer convention, so I lined it with broadcloth to absorb sweat and seal up the seams.

The gold trim and fringe is a military style braid that I found online. It required about 15 hours of hand-sewing, because my sewing foot could not stay flat enough to keep it still. The second, narrow trim was made by taking apart a thicker, cord-type trim to give me a single strand and attaching it with Liquid Stitch.

The epaulettes are four layers of really stiff, thick interfacing stacked on top of each other and covered in scrap velvet. The trim and fringe was attached by handsewing the outer edges to each other and the top two layers of the interfacing. Then using Liquid Stitch to secure the inner edges to the fabric. (The latter was necessary to keep from breaking my needle or my hands from forcing a needle through four layers of interfacing!) I also added a pair of antique gold nautical buttons for decoration. The epaulettes are attached to the shoulders with hot glue in strategic areas.

For the picture, I grabbed parts from my Geek Squad uniform and some scrap organza for the cravat to complement the coat and give it a true "pirate-y" look! ARGG, MATEY!

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